Monday, December 16, 2013

Bishop Eddie Long, who was accused
last year of coercing four young men into sexual relationships, is
taking a leave of absence from his role as the leader of a Georgia
megachurch after his second wife filed for divorce. In
an unusual chain of events, the bishop’s wife Vanessa initially filed
the divorce papers Thursday and made a public announcement saying so
Friday morning; she then announced that she withdrew the request hours
later, only to have her lawyer announce that she was in fact going
through with the divorce Saturday. As
a result, Mr Long announced Sunday that he was going to temporarily
step back from his duties at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

'Stepping up': Bishop Eddie Long announced that
he was taking a leave of absence from his church duties to deal with
family issues after his wife filed for divorce

‘I am still your pastor. You’ll still
receive my direction. You’ve given me some weeks to take care of some
family business,’ he said during Sunday morning’s service. ‘If you go out there, the news said I stepped down,’ Mr Long continued. ‘I haven't stepped down, I've actually stepped up.’Mr Long rose to fame when he took over the megachurch New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia.

Happier times: Vanessa and Eddie Long were
married in 1990 but Vanessa filed for divorce on Thursday though she did
not give any specific reason

When he joined the church in 1987, the congregation had only about 300 members. The megachurch now boasts 25,000 members.Mr Long married Vanessa, his second
wife, in 1990 and have three children together. Mr Long has another son
from his first marriage which ended in divorce. In those court filings,
Mr Long accused his first wife Dabara Houston of having a ‘violent and
vicious temper’.

In her divorce papers, Vanessa wrote
that the marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’ with ‘no hope of
reconciliation of the parties’.Mr Long’s public statement differs, however, hinting that there was hope for a positive outcome. ‘Vanessa and I are working together in seeking God's will in our current circumstances,’ he said in a statement.

Scandal: Shortly after four young men
accused Long of coercing them into sex, these cell photos of Long in
workout gear were made public

Vanessa asked for privacy- something that she has not had since Mr Long was accused of inappropriate sexual incidents.‘It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly,’ she said.In September of last year, four
teenage boys filed lawsuits against Mr Long, saying that he coerced them
into having sexual relations with him.All of the boys were 17 and 18 years
old, and because the age of consent in Georgia is 16, police did not
pursue a criminal investigation into the issue.

Investigated: Mr Long has been the subject of both Senate investigations and local lawsuits

The boys said that the Bishop would
take them on long trips to New York, New Zealand, and South Africa, and
would buy them cars as gifts.The accusers said that he would convince them that the sexual activity was acceptable by using Biblical quotes.That message stands in direct
opposition to Mr Long’s public persona, as he is known for his strong
stance against gay rights. He has lead a number of sexual reorientation
camps in the past in an effort to ‘convert’ homosexuals.Though there were only four publicly
named plaintiffs in the sexual impropriety lawsuits, the Bishop made an
undisclosed out-of-court settlement with five individuals this May.He has continued to deny the validity
of the claims, though he did reveal some details of his relationships
with the boys that seemed unusual and unnerving.Mr Long said in the four separate
documents that he often encouraged his New Birth Missionary Church
members to call him 'daddy' and that some even called him 'grandaddy,'
but that the term was a sign of respect.

Supporters: Bishop Long lead the funeral service
of Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow Coretta Scott King, a ceremony
attended by four presidents including George W. Bush

In September lawyer Craig Gillen
defended photos Long sent some of the men from his cell phone, showing
the pastor in fitted workout clothing, calling him 'a health advocate,
he’s a weight lifter'.He added: 'He’s a fella, who’s gonna go to work and he’s gonna have on a muscle shirt.'The sex scandal was not Mr Long’s first run-in with the court of public opinion.In 2007, Mr Long was investigated by
the Senate to see if he had made financial gains as a result of his
church’s tax-exempt status. Local paper The Atlanta Journal-Constitution claimed that he received more than $3million from his charity.The investigation is ongoing.